mastitis in one udder

[fmizula]

i have found one of my goats whom has not kidded has mastitis in only one udder that is swollen with a waterdown looking milk . i checked if it really was milk and that is when i discovored the mastitis using the test strips. now i have treated her once and weited two days and remilked and tested her again with a lighter colored green result and remedicated her udder. now it says that i can only do the treatment twice on the today brand treatment. what if she still has mastitis?? do you think it came on from her milk not being milked out?? i did not think i needed to milk a goat that does not even have a kid?> she is the vegan goat or what?? im kinda confuded. my other girl, her sister has kidded, milking fine and mastitis free. will this mastitis damage her for future production?? if she was in a pen with the same buck at the same time and no baby two months after her sister kidded could she be infertile??

lots of puzzled questions

thanks

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

So just checking to make sure I have it clear.

You have 2 does that are sisters. Both were with the buck at the same time. 1 has kidded Goat A and 1 is 2 months over due Goat B, probably not pregnant. Goat A, that kidded is fine and has no mastitis and Goat B, that has not kidded, has mastitis in one side of her udder. (Goats have halves and cows have quarters but it's all one udder)

Anyway, Goat B showed a swollen red side and you milked her out a bit and saw pale watery milk. She tested positive for Mastitis and you treated with Today. Then 2 days later you tested again with a weaker positive and you treated again with Today.

Now you need to know what else to do for her. Yes?

 

[fmizula]

that is all correct except i dont believe that udder side was red, just appeared full. you are a much better writer than me

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

No worries. Just wanted to make sure I had it right.

I have not had great luck with today/tomorrow but really like Spectramast which you can get from your vet. It's about 3-5.00 a tube and rocks as far as soft tissue healing antibiotics go. I've even put it on a skinned knee before


One of the big things to do when dealing with mastitis is milk her out as much as you possibly can. I typically treat after the last milking of the day and massage the medication up into the udder and let it sit and work all night and then milk her out 3-5 times the next day. Rise and repeat.


Warm compresses can help if you are dealing with congestion as well. It helps to break up infection gunk and release it.


As far as the breeding went. Lots of goats don't take and are fine on their next breeding. Maybe the timing was off, maybe she got bonked to hard by another goat, maybe she took but it wasn't a healthy pregnancy and she absorbed it. Many things can happen where they are bred but end up not pregnant. Clear up the mastitis, make sure she is up to date with copper and selenium (there are a couple posts on here about the effect of those on fertility) get her nice and healthy and flush her with grain for the month or two before you want to breed her and you'll probably get babies.

 

[fmizula]

i have learned from the web that apple cider vinegar and peppermint oil rubs are good for mastitis so i have been trying that as well. the rubs are hard to do as she does not want to be touched. i have a fat lip from this.

 

[fmizula]

so i should keep milking her till there is no more to be milked?? like for several days or weeks or whatever it may be? should i keep giving her more medicine till it is gone or just let it heal up now on its own?

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Have you tested her since the last dose you gave her? If not I would do that again.


You said, until it is gone. How much of the tube did you put in to the udder? Or do you have multiple tubes. Each tube should be only used once. Otherwise it reintroduces the bacteria.



If she is still testing positive I would totally and completely milk her out all day today. Then treat her again tonight. Milking her out helps flush things out. It's like how you want a wound to bleed to clean it out. When you treat her use the whole tube and when it is injected use one hand to pinch over the orifice in the teat and use the other hand to massage the antibiotic up into the udder. There is no set way to cure mastitis. Some of it is just intuition when it comes to how the goat is doing. Milk her out again all day tomorrow and treat again tomorrow night. After that I would give it a day and then test again to see if she is still positive. Hopefully she is not.

 

[fmizula]

the last dose i gave her was last night when i milked her and after i tested her and was possitive still. i milked her just a bit ago after you said to keep doing it and was still greenish, she has such a small amount in there at this point. do u think i should be using the kind for dry does or in milk? i put the whole tube in the udder and i have bought the 12 pack box. then after the mastitis is gone do i keep milking her out untill she has no more to give?

 

[Emmetts Dairy]

Personally I would also start her on an systemtic anitbiotic for 10 days as well. Very important. And you should do 4 to 5 infusions 12 hours apart and really massage that udder to get all the medicine in there. Dont touch the uninfected udder. Mastitis is hard to get rid of. And if not caused by an injury it is always germs that get in there. If you can I would milk her every 2 to 3 hours and strip those teats out. It helps push any junk out of those teats...pus, blood, infection, etc.

But very important to give her anitbiotics for 10 days with this treatment. Oxytetracyline (like LA 200, Bio-mycin) They are avail at Tractor Supply and common in most farm stores. I would add probiotics while on anitibiotics so rumen functions stay good. Important to help rid this from her properly. Poor girl. Its painful and unpleasant for her. I would also recomend keeping her bedding clean so not to lay in the infected areas. Helps a little.

Good luck with her...thats no fun.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Yeah if you are dealing with greenish pus type stuff I would agree with the systemic antibiotic as well. One of the big things is to keep the udder clean and keep milking her out.